Transcripts For ALJAZAM News 20140130

[ music ] priceless theft a stun gun, a concert master and the mystery of who stole a 300yearold stradavarius. [ music ] atlanta will recover from the ice storm and life will get back to normal. For now the city is reeling from Mother Nature and mistakes from those in power. Thousands stranded on highway, children spending the night in schools and buses. Good samaritans rescuing those in need. We know it happened, but why what went wrong . We begin with robert ray in atlanta. Atlanta, paralyzed by a few inches of snow that turned quickly into dangerous ice. The ice on the road people are trying to drive up and down the road and couldnt make it. Tyres lost traction, everyone hit each other. A million commuters and schoolchildren trying to go home simultaneously tuesday as the storm bore down. The result a colossal regionwide traffic jam. Many people driving. If you can call it that, for over 16 hours, marking their progress in inches. Some stranded overnight, forced to leave their vehicles and walk to makeshift shelters in freezing temperatures. Some sleeping in store aisles and restaurants. If we had not had everyone exiting at the same time and going en route to pick up the children, i dont believe we would have had the gridlock that has resulted. On wednesday the states top leaders faced questions over whether their decisions to send workers home early and when to let schools out brought the metro ladder to a standstill. What could we do to avoid that . We cant control Mother Nature. Just as we cannot make better predictions, neither could the school superintendents. Thats why the schoolchildren are in the situation they were in. The governor deal said that more than 2,000 students spent the night at school, because buses like this, idle on many of the roads in the atlanta area could not move because of the hills and the ice. Students, teachers and principals tried to make the best of it. We have kids that have never been away from home. Our younger 5yearolds, we called the parents. Last night and this morning. That calmed fears. Atlanta, hub to Major Corporation and the Busiest Airport in the world is facing the consequences of not being prepared to deal with snow and ice that had been forecast well in advance. I lived off the street my whole life and never saw anything like this. The city is shut down, schools closed and residents looking to put the blame on someone robert ray reporting. And former Georgia State senator Liane Levetan is on the phone. Good to have you on the program. Who do you blame for all this . Well, im not one that says we have to blame anyone. You look at the situation, and try and come up with solutions if this comes again. I have lived in atlanta for most of my life. We had terrible storms, but what has happened here, i believe, not only being in the state senate, but being the chief executive officer running the cab county government and county commission, recognising that it takes team work, and one of the things that needs to be done is there needs to be a coordinated effort with the state, with the local governments as well as the school systems, but we also have to realise that atlanta is a growing, growing area, which is good. Our Rapid Transit system is not going to all over the whole region. There needs to be improvements made sustaining our road systems, and as a matter of fact the people of this region turned down a way to make improvements that are needed if someone had moved a little sooner would that have made a difference . What happened, and i have been home. I got stuck. Luckily got home after a 10 minute ride took me almost an hour and a half. I think that we depended a lot on the National Weather forecast and people werent sure. This happened, you know, very suddenly. But the movement changed so i think, you know, we had to make decisions to if we contemplate something, are we going to close down the schools. Each jurisdiction makes their own decisions. This is a Good Opportunity for us to come together as a region or a state, to come up with an emergency plan if Something Like this happens again as far as roads and what we do you come up with a good point and i want to talk about coordination and i want to mention this. People that have grown up in the south understand that you may have only had a couple of inches of snow, but the ice is treacherous. Given that 10,000 children, though, spent the night in schools or 300 on school buses. So dont the governments, all the governments surrounding atlanta need to get together with the state and city to figure out a plan of action now . Well, i think this you know, we look back and learn from our mistakes. And i dont think it can be pinpointed to anybody. I think we have to be happy now that we are on the way out of this situation. But i certainly feel, and i have said this, that i believe in coordination. We had tornado when i was ceo of the county and had to coordinate with the surrounding counties and g. E. Ma and f. E. M. A. Hopefully it wont happen soon, but it could. Having a metro region plan, or a statewide plan, where all the traffic is, with the businesses involved, because it means people being let off from work. I know schools let their children out at one, but then it involves school buses and parents coming and it was chaos. And it came very suddenly. It really did. I mean, within an hour or so, my husband usually he was out, and he had a 15 minute ride, which took him almost two hours to come home a lot of people spent a lot more time on the road than that. Absolutely. A friend of mine was at the same event that my husband was at. She called me and said it took her almost eight hours to come home. Therell be a lot of stories after the ice and snow storm. Liane levetan, its a pleasure to have you on the program. Maybe these ideas will come to fruition in the future. Thank you very much. Thank you. Byebye. We go from the storm to incredible stories, and Richelle Carey has been following that. You have an incredible one. This will make you smile, but it had to be stressful for a long time. Hang with me as i tell you what happened. You dont necessarily know what to expect when a storm is coming. When you are expecting imagine how stressful that could be. That amend to amy and nick anderson, parents to be. Amy tells her husband, its time, they thought about calling an ambulance but decided to drive to hospital instead. Thats when the roads became too dangerous to continue. We couldnt go forward and i knew the contransactions got strong contractions got strong. The couple pulled over and a Police Officer stopped and said, can i help you . I walked over to see if theyd broken down and i could see the babys head. A short time later beautiful grace was born. There she is, she was worn while all the chaos happened in atlanta, georgia. Something beautiful. Absolutely out of the terrible tomorrow. Thank you very much. See you later. Meteorologist Kevin Corriveau is standing by with more on how long this deep freeze is going to last in the south. Well, well see a cold evening. If you look at the radar, notice how the system moved to the south. Everything to the northwest is clear. Well see a lot of sunshine tomorrow. We are dealing with the warnings and a lot of areas that are still dealing with problems, down here along the coast of savannah. I10, 200 miles, was closed this evening because of icy conditions. Temperatures now are 21 degrees. Anything that melted today is going to refreeze, if it hasnt already. Temperatures are expected to go down lower for many areas. You can see we are expecting to get down to 16 deerings. Notice how the temperature is forecast to come back up to 40 degrees there. Tomorrow theyll get a bit of melting. Theres one night we expect to see the temperatures going down below freezing. 40 below on thursday. 22 degrees towards friday. A little bit more freezing overnight. After that, friday, it will be pretty much all clear to go. Textures all the way back up to 63 on sunday. A welcome relief for the folks. Its a different problem in california. Too little snow and rain. Coming up, the growing concern that some communities could be without water altogether. But we have other news to tell you about. Overseas a warning that Al Qaedalinked militants in syria are aspiring to attack the United States. The director of the National Intelligence agency James Clapper says the wartorn nation is a magnet for extremists. Tremendous concern for the extremists who are attracted to syria, engage in combat, get training and we are seeing now the appearance of training complexes in syria to train people to go back to their countries and, of course, conduct more terrorist acts. It can be difficult to understand who is who when it comes to those fighting in syria, but there are fundamental difference, and Nick Schifrin reports from geneva. In this turkish market next to the clocks you can buy fabric for your own syrian rebel uniform. Inside dozens of shops military vests are 30 and there are matching daggers. On the wall a flag declaring allegiance to fighters fighting for al qaeda. Inside syria those fighters release propaganda videos fly the same flag. They are the most leethful and successful of all the armed groups, and the popular. In turkey we met jamil who facilitates and supports islamist fighters, saying they are not corrupt. Translation the islamist state fights the robbers and thieves, thats why the Syrian People support them. The Islamic State is not only fighting assad, but the u. S. Backed opposition fighters for control of the country side and border crossings. The fight is not only inside syria, its at the border and control over these supplies that are going into syria. Its volatile. Until recently the area was controlled by fighters that the u. S. Would consider moderate. Two weeks ago it was taken over by radical fighters. In geneva. The negotiators say the radicals means the government needs to stay in power to fight terrorism. The issue is to stop terrorism. The opposition says its abb excuse. Arguing the brutality of Bashar Alassad opened the doors to terrorists. Theres a third option in syria. A democratic transition. Colonel Ammar Al Wawi is fighting for the third option. He was one of the first officers to defect from the syrian army and argues without american weapons the rebels cannot defeat assad or the radicals. Translation the United States of america has let us down. So the radicals are not going anywhere, which means in geneva the two sides will continue to disagree, and in syria the death toll will mount. Now to ukraine where the government is offering more concessions. The parliamentapproved legislation offered amnesty to protesters, demonstrators will be clear of crime, but they have to clear public areas within 15 days. Opposition leaders say its not enough. Coming up, a lawmakers disturbing threat to a reporter. What the congressman is saying tonight. To the rescue, dramatic video of friend coming to the help of an unconscious sky diver. Tonight an apology from the congressman who threatened a reporter. Michael grimm was week interviewed by Michael Scotto of new york 1. He asked about a criminal investigation into his campaigns finances. The congressman walked away, only to return saying this . today the reporter said the congressman called him and apologised. A representative of Michael Grimm issued a public apology. I was wrong, it shouldnt have happened. I called Michael Scotto, he accepted my apology, and well go to lunch and put it behind us. Now to the state of union, and president obamas ovation when he spoke about women and the workplace. She deserves to have a baby without sacrificing her job. A mother deserves a day off to care for a sick child tore a sick parent without running into hardship. You know what, a father does too. It is time to do away with workplace policies that belong in a mad men episode. This year, lets all come together, congress, the white house, businesses from wall street to main street and give every woman the opportunity she deserves. I believe when women succeed, america succeeds. We are joined from new york by keli goff, a contributing writer to booest the daily beast, and the root. An important point. The president got big applause. If they have an applauseometer it would have been off the charts. It was a popular moment. Why was it a hit on social media . I think theres a lot of ladies on social media. Thats part of the it. Its an issue. We know theres a war on women debate. A lot of missteps and gaffs on the g. O. P. Side with mike hucker bees libido comment and other highprofile missteps. Everyone has been watching to see who will go into the next midterm elections with more of an advantage with the women voters, and what the president would say to talk specifically to women. Democrats may have talked the talk, but women are not making as much as men. What has to happened. That is what was so smart. We heard the same numbers over and over for years. They havent changed that much. Which is the pay gap. What we havent talked about is why the gap exists, thats why it is important that the president spoke specifically to the role that women play as caregivers, and not just having to take a step back from their careers to raise children, but care for elderly parents, thats a significant issue in the workplace. You cant say, hey, lets pay women as much as men. If people do the same job and put in the same hours, its discrimination to pay one less. Its more complicated than that. We need to talk about changes so that women who carry the caregiving burden are not sacrificing careers to do so. I heard a response suggesting that the numbers are not accurate. If you take into account the amount of time that women spend in their child bearing years taking care of children, that the numbers are equal. Theres truth in that. I have written about that. The reality is if we want the planet and the population to continue, someone will have to have children. The only ones capable of doing that are women. Well have to sort out a compromise. He didnt say women should be paid equal pay for equal work. How do we make it happen . You do it by talking about how we treat people to do the work. What are the policies that would make a difference, in your opinion . We need to talk about family medical leave. Im mixed on flex time. I think at a certain point there are certainly jobs that are not compatible for spending lots of children with their children or boyfriend. If you want to be a c. I. A. Operative you are probably not going to spend a lot of time with the relatives at home, according to homeland. But you talk about diversity in the president s cabinet. Its a hot button issue. We should be willing to say if someone is great at what they do, they should be able to take off a few years, but not write the career off for good. Important issues. President obama took his state of Union Address on the road, making stops in maryland, and a steel plant in pennsylvania. As promised he set up a new retirement saving bond for workers. Bisi onileere was in pennsylvania and has more on the regions comeback story. Talk today focused on speeding up the economy and growing the middle class. President obama used this steel factory outside of pittsburg as a back drop for the message. This is a region that has come far. When i thought. Elissa ashwood, a california native is among a number of entrepreneurs launching startups in pittsburg. Pittsburg is an interesting city. It was never on my list of places i believed i would live in. Its in the nations rust belt where this 42yearold wife and mother is trying to make her treatment a reality. Elissa ashwood starred a Company Called truly accomplished. Its a webbased operation helping people to organise their lives and businesses. If you have a good idea that can be proven in the midwest, and in pittsburg, you can be successful in the other mark. 30 years ago pittsburg was at its worst. It lost much of its steel and Industrial Base in the 80s the economy collapsed. Over 100,000 jobs were lost, and a carter Million People moved out. So it was really a steel depression in the early 1980s, and pittsburg had a long road to come back. Bill flannagan has the leading Community Development organization. And he says after the economic bust reinvention was key in moving pittsburg floored. Health care, education and Financial Services fuel the economy. We have hundreds of companies employing tens of thousands of people that didnt exist 30 years ago. With unemployment hovering above 6 , chris briem, a regional economist at the university of pittsburg says theres a lot of work to do. The challenges remain in the core towns in the region, certainly the places where steel was. The mon valley and smarter communities have not moved past the worse of the job loss. In light of that the focus now is to educate, train and attract enough people to meet the demand of new jobs that entrepreneurs like Elissa Ashwood have to offer. The cool thing about being part of an Entrepreneur Community is when you do something agreement, others support you and amplify it. Leading to more opportunities and economic growth. The president s visit here to the pittsburg area gave him the opportunity to drive home the methods that he brought forward during his state of Union Address. Therell be more stops. We van bringing you a series of state of union reflections, checking with every day people invited to attend state of the Union Addresses in the past. Right now the story of two Small Business owners from california. Im kendra baker. Im zac davis. We are at the penny icecreamery in santa cruz california. We were invited to the state of union in 2011. I have the prospects of a Small Business owner dreaming of turning a good idea into a good business. We are here as part of the recovering act. All of our hard work, everything that we have gone through to open the business, it was special and gave me hope for other Small Businesses. I think for a Small Business opening up, creating access to capital is huge. When we attended the state of union, i think the country was there were a lot of issues. The focus has been able to return somewhat to Small Business. Sips weve been open, i mean, there has been an incredible response from the community. There is to a degree a limited amount that the federal government can do. There are some areas of tax relief that can be helpful. Getting out of the way and helping entrepreneurs with great ideas, putting them into action is really important. Without the additional backing from the federal government, the likelihood of us getting our loan was slim. We are operating a wonderful icecream shop that is successful. We opened up a cafe as well as an additional location in the Pressure Point cafe. Coming up, state of emergency, california running out of water. Well have that report. Plus gun safety, how Smartphone Technology is used to reduce the risks. Welcome back to al jazeera america. Im John Seigenthaler in new york. We have a lot to tell you about in the second half hour of our broadcast. We go inside a brazilian prison ta some call hell on earth. Cells built for four, stuffed with 10 inmates serving sentences in filthy, dangerous conditions. Rescue in midair, a skydiver knocked unconscious during his jump and what was down to save his life. First Richelle Carey with a look at the top stories. Talk about atlanta. Its a mess. Two inches of snow and ice delivered a wallop to the south, causing massive congestion on roads and interstates leaving thousands stranded for hours, many of whom only managed to return this afternoon. This thing lasted more than 24 hours. Georgias governors the schoolkids are back with their families. Its called a small step forward. The Syrian Government and opposition said yes to using the agreement that emerged from the first round of the geneva talks as a basis for negotiations. The u. N. Mediator says theres little chance of a breakthrough before both sides head home. The dow fell 100 and 90 points. The drop happened as the federal return said the economy is Strong Enough for cutback and bond buying. To the drought in california. This is the driest year on record. The crisis is growing and fears that 17 communities will be without water. Lisa bernard is live in heeldsburg, california, with more on that. Well, we are in heeldsburg. Im in the middle of a river. It is driveway. The buoy is against the grouped. Usually it would you float on top of water. Its dry after months of no rain. City leaders mandated a 20 reduction in water usage. That is, of course, to keep the water flowing here as much as possible. The National Weather service said that if the bay area doesnt get 21 inches of rain by june 30th, well be at lower than normal levels of precipitation. That could be the case. The Public Utilities commission will mandate on friday, ask, 2. 6 million customers cut back on water usage by 10 . A spokesperson tells us theres a lot of anxiety as this drought is unprecedented. 1977 is the benchmark year for when california was in extreme drought. The precipitation for this year is lower than what it was for that period of time. Thats why we are taking it very seriously as we go into the winter season. The spokesperson is activing out to customers backs like this. There are lowfellow areas, things to help the toilet, making sure theres no leaks. Anything that would take away any water, their emphasis is in conservation. I went on the website for he, ldsburg, its a serious problem for them. What steps are they taking. First theyll think about trucking in water, building wells and sharing across water districts. Because the governor of california declared a drought emergency, he could mandate if they dont willing share. San franciscos mayor is hoping for federal dollars as well. Thank you. Meteorologist Kevin Corriveau is standing by with more on the devastating drought, and if continues. It does continue. Its gotten worse over the last several months across the renalon. You can see the rain coming into parts of northern california. We had a ridge of High Pressure making the moisture go to the north. Thats been breaking down. The moisture is coming into the northern part of california, and nevada. Its not really going to be enough to do anything in order to really paying a dent in the drought. This is what we are looking at now. The drought situation we are talking about 68 of california is in this. Of course, as i mentioned this has expanded since the last three months. We talked that the red area is going up to the Mitchell Sanchez bay area. You can see up to the northern border. We are expected to see tomorrow the light green is only light rain. We dont expect to see much in an accumulation. As we go towards friday, we are not expected to see much. It will take, in this particular area, some regions need 18 to 21 inches of rain to get out of the drought completely. And that means a years worth of rain for some locations. South carolina, they have not seen any rain probably for the last two or three weeks, maybe longer, and that was only very, very minimal across the area. We will need to watch this closely. Unfortunately the longterm forecast said there wont be much improvement for much of that area. Thank you very much. Here is an important story. Human trafficking, sex slaves, enforced frost tuition is a growing problem around the world and in the United States. According to the Nonprofit Group free the slaves there are as many as 30 million slaves worldwide. Its an industry that generates billions each year. I sat down with cindy mccain, who has been working to raise awareness on human trafficking. I asked her how big a problem is it in the u. S. And how it relates to the super bowl. We have right now, and theres no real hard data, we think we know, we know it exists, we dont know how many. The estimate is over 100,000 little children, girls, moved around just the United States. That doesnt include the you women of aim trafficked against their will or the little boys or the men that are involved in this from a labour trafficking standpoint. Its much once we have hard data from this, it will be bigger than we think. Why target the super bowl. Its not targetting the super bowl. It is a catalyst for a large amount of uptake. Its a big event. You know, people come to enjoy themselves. We call it the 100 mile limit. They come, they are away from their families and things happen. The super bowl was catalyst. This issing it that is long term. Our attempts here in arizona and around the country is to stop it for good. You got the n. F. L. Involved in this. Well, yes. Its not that i got them involved, i wanted them to step up to the plate a bit and we had a good meeting with them in washington d. C. You have other partners too. Tell me about them . I have a lot of u. S. Senator. I came from on event with governor chris christie, and he showed me the command center. They are doing a marvellous job and hes a good advocate on this issue. How do you mep people who are trafficked. A lot believe its awareness. That happens only overseas. Education is one thing, making them aware of surroundings. Theres an 800 number. If they see something they can call and report it. It doesnt mean you are being a vigilante, its being good about something you dont understand that you saw that might be druble. Local governments, do you think they could do more to get involved . Absolutely. When i approached the governor, she never hesitated and ponded a task force. We have legislation that will pass right away. Cindy mccain will be back tomorrow in our 8 oclock eastern hour to talk more about the issue of human trafficking. It is a prison some call hell on earth. The prison in porto alegre filthy, overcrowded and things will not be like i to change soon. Gabriel elizondo respects. Its one of the largest and best known prisons in brazil for the wrong reasons. With a capacity for 2069 ipp mates, today the prison at porto alegre has twice that number. In a country full of prisons with terrible conditions, welcome to one of the worst. Inmates make a signal with their hands, which means overcrowding, clothes, towels and sheets hanging out the window. Inside inmates are stuck wherever there is room. This cell should hold four, at night it sleeps as many as 10. Prison officials prevented us from freely interviewing inmates, all of whom were removed from the cell blocks that we visited. This is a shower that is shared by hundreds of inmates. Cables are stitched together for electricity. If theres a fire, theres little help. This is a kitchen with some inmates cook. Its filthy, dirty, and worse, theres flies everywhere, theres mosquitos and cockroaches, and above here is where some raw sewerage comes in from the schedules above and goes out to the main patio. In one of prison yards the infrastructure is in total collapse. In the past three years 15 inmates died from Drug Overdose or other healthrelated problems. Local judges and public defenders took the case to the human rights course of american states, asking a brazilian government to take measures to improve the conditions. Theres a need to completely close the gaol, to deactivate it. Theres no financially viable reforms to be done to make the gaol suitable for the numbers that it has. The state superintendent admits the situation is not ideal, but says three new prisons are in the process of being built. Translation i cant i dont have the conditions in the gaol without taking the prisoners. Conditions and overcrowding are interrelated. Brg risens is not something i can do from one day to the next building prisons is not something i can do from one day to the next. Sacks of supplies are brought in by visitors, toilet paper and food. If i bring toilet paper my son can clean himself. If i bring soap, he can clean himself. Mother describe the gaol as hell. Few can argue with that. The Justice Department is investigating the target data hacking case. Hackers sold credit card information from 40 million customers during the holidays. The names and addresses of 70 million more were stolen. Attorneygeneral eric holder told lawmakers that authorities are committed tond fi to findg the data. 80 million guns are stolen every year. Theres a push to create technology that will make it impossible but the owner to fire the gun. Jake ward has the story. Whether its the key to your luggage, the pin code on your phone or the lock on your car. Theres almost nothing you own that doesnt come with Technology Keeping someone else from using it. The exception is guns. Over 170,000 guns go missing each year. 25 of firearms it recovers are stolen. Thats in part because nothing in the gun itself prevents a thief from using a stolen gun. Some people are now trying to change that. I have a gun. And the only thing standing between me and making a terrible decision is my conscience and the fact in this gun is not mine. Its designed by armati, and. Because its not mine i dont have a special watch i need to wear to make sure i cant fire it. Its useless, a piece of metal in my hand. Onward guns under the armati, and brand is linked to the wax. But the Technology May be one of for challenges made by the smart tech challenges made by investor ron conway. Hes spurring guntechnology and the first is tech. Well find the entrepreneur who wins the contest and build the idea into a huge company. The challenge attracted several prototypes, a device made by yardarm exists in the back of pistols, letting an owner know who moves it. Un holstering and holstering. Location tracking. The National Rifle association didnt have a statement ready for our broadcast. And walmart, a retailer of the guns declined to comment if we asked if it had study for a weap weapon. Jean haufman believes Identification Technology will not work this is like all door locks, it only keeps honest people honest. They can take the technology out and turn it into a firearm. Can you code the gun to the owner. Own your gun, its your gun, specific to you and it cant fall into the wrong hands. That would be a good thing. Pressure on the Electronics Industry made apple and samsung put in features to disable the phones remotely. Theres not the same on gun, but maybe in years time it will one day be impossible to fire a gun that doesnt belong to you. Super bowl week is more than a buildup. It provides a platform to promote charities. Michael eaves is here with a cool story. A lot of people that attended a super bowl week, its about the games and parties. Its more than that, especially as it comes to charity. Sports and charity goes hand in hand. Athletic events prevented us with high profile venues to show support for the military. As Ross Shimabuku reports former n. F. L. Players were helping some of our countrys biggest heroes. Its the big game before the big game. Wounded warriors took on some veterans. It benefits the Wounded Warrior project supporting servicemen and women who have been injured. As you can imagine the game is competitive. The Wounded Warrior Football Team meant a lot to me. It got me back in physical condition. Dan nonetheless the competition of the games, and like many teammates hes a hero, earning the purple heart award for his service in the marine core. I was swearing in to join the marine core. On april 24th i was severely injured in afghanistan due to an. Ud explosion. First of all, it makes me feel small, because im in awe of these heroes, and the sacrifices that they made, and the courage that they have. Guys have more courage in the top half of their pinky finger than their whole body. I was injured 10 years ago. Its been a rough journey. I didnt see it coming. Medically retired in 2005, in total he endured 23 surgeries. He admits the journey to a normal life was not easy. You didnt thing about everything in between. Weve gotten life back together, and now we an amputee Football Team. It gives you a purpose. Some of the men and women serving, whats the best advice you have for them . Reach out for hep and accept it. Its hard, we are prideful, we are taught to adapt and overcome. In time is serious, its better to ask for help early and receive it and work through it than let it build up and become like a piece of sand in your shoe that turns into a blister. You have three kids, what do you hope to teach them . Live a good life and live courageous. Sometimes people throw courage around. Its not just about running to the front line. Its the small things, doing the right things, not bullying in school. Volting, paying attention to the landscape. I want to teach them to live right or do whats right for everybody else. Great advice. The Wounded Warrior team will go on to beat the n. F. L. Alumni 3517, extending a winning streak to 6 and 0. Two things stand out when you see that is that a , its a great outlet for the guys and women who come back from surgery in foreign wars and have the disabilities. Its a reminder toablebodied people. You see the guy, the pers veerns perseverance and them coming out and plays, its intense, and we have to be thankful for what we have. Its a great celebration for them during this super bowl week, which is theres a lot going on in new york. To praise them and celebrate them is wonderful. To see the league and players show support. Thank you very much. C coming up, a freeze frame of the day, and the perfect crime. A stolen violin stolen in milwaukee triggers a worldwide investigation. Its not only the big problems here, all the way back to texas. We saw ice. Places that dont normally see this type of icing. Even though it is winter. Down towards the Florida Panhandle we saw 100 miles of i10 closed down because of the ice storm. A lot of people are heading to the northeast and they are arriving for the big game. If you are travelling and making plans things are not looking too bad. We have the snow system. That will make its way to the east over the next few days. The good news is things around new york and new jersey are looking nice. The temperature is coming up. If you do skiing, that will be good. 24 inches in some locations. When you see the dark blues, it could be six numbers of there. For new york, temperatures climbing all the way through the weekend. See belowaverage temperatures on thursday. As we go towards game day, sunday, 42 degrees. It is about 38. Thats a look at the National Weather. Your news is after a near death experience of someone. 25yearold james lee went jumping when he was knocked unconscious. Luckily his friend realised something was wrong, scrambled and rolled james into position and deployed his parachute. He landed safely and he had no recollection of the event. He did over 1,000 jumps. Despite the experience he plans to continue skydiving. An unconscious crime caper. Listen to this. A stolen object played in concert hauls around the world. Its anybodys guess who has it. [ music ] it is considered the holy grail in the music world, a rare perfect and nearly priceless stradavarius. Tonight one of these precious handcrafted instruments is missing. Stolen in a brazen armed robe. Its important to note that this vinylin is valuable, but valuable to a small population. This is not something that can be easily sold for even a fraction of its monetary value. But police do believe the thief was after this instrument. The 300yearold stradavarius was violently taken from a milwaukee concert master. The suspect attacking him with a stun gun, before fleeing in a mini van. The concert master is recovering. An fbi team is on the case. Interpol has been notified. There are an estimated 650 stradavariuses in the world. Many in museums and private collections. Some are played by the worlds greatest musicians. The stradavarius was played in 1715 and has a distinct pattern on its back. It was last sold in auction at 2006 for 3. 5 million. It is now believed to be worth considerably more. Beautiful, right. We spoke to robert whitman, a former fbi agent, an expert on the types of theft. It is unique because it was premeditated and there are roughly 30 vialins of this caliber. The way that this person will get caught is trying to sell it. Theres nothing else like this. That will give this person away. It will be tough. Thank you. Tonight in the freeze frame, an image that caught our eye. Off i75, a hill covered in ice forming a frozens water fall febility. Temperatures in kentucky, single digits. Kentucky 2 stranding thousands in georgia, alabama. Headlines are next. Welcome to al jazeera america. Im Richelle Carey. Here are the top stories. Crippled by a few inches of snow and ice folks in georgia and alabama are trueing to struggling to get back to normal. Highways were paralyzed. Kids were forced to spend the fight at school. Both sides in geneva said yes to 2012 as a base for peace negotiations. The the u. N. Mediator says theres little chance of a breakthrough before both sides head home. Peter grestes appeal against detention in egypt has been denied. Peter greste, Mohamed Fadel fahmy, and Baher Mohamed have been held without charge for a month. President obama gave speeches in maryland and pennsylvania. He spoke about income and equality and introduced a retirement plan. Economic jitters drove the dow down almost 190 point. Travels emerging abroad on the same day the Federal Reserve said it would roll back stimulus efforts. Those are the headlines america tonight is next. You can get the latest headlines on aljazeera. Com. Thank you for your time. On america tonight frozen out. Atlanta immobilized by a blast of nature. How far have you gone in eight hours . A mile. You have been in the traffic jam since 1 30 yesterday. How humans managed to make it a disaster. Tonight from International Fugitive to nobel prize nominee. Can Edward Snowden ever come home . Is it time for the u. S. To make a deal . We heard the number